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Mukesh Ambani, No. 1. For the full list, click on the picture.

India's slowing economy got a welcome boost in September when the government ended months of policy paralysis by easing rules for foreign investments in key sectors like retailing, insurance and aviation. The much-needed reforms perked up sentiments in what was otherwise another year of corruption scandals, this time in mining allocations, dubbed "Coalgate." The measures helped to goose the Mumbai Sensex by 10% over the past 12 months, a rise partially eroded by a weakening rupee that fell by 8%. India's 100 richest therefore were able to eke out modest gains; they are now worth $250 billion, up from $241 billion a year ago. But those gains were uneven, as 7 lost more than a billion and 6 gained at least that.

For the fifth year in a row Mukesh Ambani retains the top spot, with a net worth of $21 billion, despite his fortune being down $1.6 billion. Lakshmi Mittal lost $3.2 billion but holds on at No. 2. The biggest dollar gainer was pharma tycoon Dilip Shanghvi, who broke into the top 5 for the first time with a $2.5 billion jump, as shares of his Sun Pharmaceutical soared. Fellow pharma entrepreneur, Wockhardt's Habil Khorakiwala, who rejoined the billionaire ranks, was this year's biggest percentage gainer.

There are now 61 billionaires in all, 4 more than last year. Among them are the Hinduja brothers, who debut with an estimated $8 billion fortune. While 3 of the storied siblings are not Indian citizens, their expanding business ties to India made them candidates this year. They are the richest of 11 newcomers, even as the minimum net worth increased to $460 million, from $370 million last year. The youngest newcomer is 40-year-old Ranjan Pai, credited with turning his Manipal Group into a global brand in education.

More than one-third of the 89 who returned to the ranks this year are worse off. The biggest loser is Gautam Adani, owner of India's largest private-sector port, who lost more than half his fortune--$4.3 billion. Of the 10 who dropped out altogether (one other, Gracias Saldanha, died in July), 4 have their fortunes tied to the power industry, which is plagued by fuel shortages, including power producer L. Madhusudan Rao of Lanco Infratech and power-equipment maker B.G. Raghupathy. Wind energy entrepreneur Tulsi Tanti, too, fell off as shares of his Suzlon more than halved. Singapore citizen Bhupendra Kumar Modi is absent from this list as he's now counted among Singapore's richest; his Delhi-based brother, tobacco king Krishna Kumar Modi, who controls an independent empire, joins the ranks.

The list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and India’s regulatory agencies. The ranking lists family fortunes, including those shared among extended families. Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of Oct. 12. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded.